About Me

I now live in Victoria, after a couple years on the North Shore of Vancouver, and a (too) brief time in the prairies. Working as an artist, mother and wife (not necessarily in that order), i am striving to live well, to find the truth of God in all things, and to pass on this truth to others.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

in defense of Christmas carols

in one of the advent readings i read this month the writer encouraged me to make space for worship, and one of his admonishments was to sing regular worship songs rather than Christmas carols.

WHAT?!

i wanted to write him and ask if he's ever really paid attention to the carols. i know that they can be overdone, overlooked, washed-out, used for sentimentality and commercialism, crooned out by grade 6 bands and pop singers in ear-decaying fashion. but.

what could be more worship inspiring than the above words? they have reverberated in me these past weeks - and the soul felt its worth. long i lay, pining away in my life of sin and error, and then God broke in and offered me worth. this season, and the whole story of our world, culminates in the Creator God revealing the worth of His creation by becoming a part of it. fall on your knees! hear the angel voices!! o night divine!!!

i had the incredible privilege of singing back-up for the worship in our Christmas Eve service last night. we sang this song, o holy night, and it was utterly overwhelming - so much so, that i realized i was belting it out a little off key and needed to simmer down :).

chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

and in His name

all oppression shall cease﻿

preach it Christmas Carol!!

i went to the saskatoon children's choir's Christmas concert and was struck with how at this time of year people of any faith welcome the gospel into their ears. surely somebody is actually listening.

we have had a very silent Christmas, if you don't count the ambulance siren and croupy cough of our son. no extended family, no friends even (thanks to infectious viruses), just us. it's been very relaxed and cozy. naps, tea, snacks, the sound of music, lego, reading. i haven't stepped outside of the house all day however and i'm feeling that we are going to have to brave the boxing day parking lots tomorrow just to give me a field trip.

i made no turkey. i did not overachieve. i haven't swept my floor in days. aren't you proud of me?

the kids are now tucked up in their beds. i wonder when my five year old will start asking "how many days until Christmas?" again. could be next week. i'm off for a peaceful night with my hubby.

i pray for a silent night for you all, heavenly peace-filled sleeps, and the dawn of redeeming grace tomorrow.

2 comments:

Merry quiet Christmas, Janet! Besides the sickness, your Christmas sounds lovely!!! I would have given anything for quiet this Christmas, but one family member makes it impossible. I, on the other hand, found myself crying during Christmas Eve service knowing that this baby, who came to our Earth, was able to breath life into me this year and bring light back into me that nows shines before others. What an amazing gift I have received!!! There has been darkness in this Christmas celebration with my family, but I am continually reminded that Christ is the light that no darkness can overcome! I also enjoyed a good dose of Sound of Music!!! Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens!

to remember: homewood

lady in red

all things bright and beautiful

grasslands 2

dressed in white

oil on canvas, 2013, 18x18, $325

thistle at twilight

oil on canvas, 24x36, 2013, sold

grasslands

oil and acrylic on canvas, 2013, 12x24, sold

COME TO US, ABIDE WITH US, OUR LORD, EMMANUEL

The empty chair is one that guests usually sit in when we host. The vantage point is from my couch where I sit in the mornings and spend time with God – through the window is our front yard, our neighbourhood. The telescope draws my eye out, out of my little world of home and family and into the lives of my neighbours (metaphorically speaking!). This is where I long for Christ to be incarnated through me - in my home, through my hospitality, and in my neighbourhood. This is where I pray "O come, O come Emmanuel".

a vision of homewood

will be auctioned in the camp homewood fundraiser

invitation

oil on canvas, 30x40, 2012, $960

promise

oil on canvas, 20x24, $480

fulfillment

oil on canvas, 2012, 18x24, nfs

attached

oil on canvas, 2012, 30x40, $960

resiliant 2

oil on canvas, 2012, SOLD

fields of gold

oil on canvas, 2012, sold

resiliant

oil on canvas, 2011, 18x24, sold

overlooked

oil on canvas, 2012, SOLD

diaspora

oil on canvas, 2011, SOLD

open up

Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.Henri Nouwen